private EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES // chat with kits

[HOWLINGSTAR]

// @FALLOWPAW @doepaw ࿔ @antlerpaw! @elkpaw @FAWN
Set before Berry’s death


Howlingstar sits inside the medicine den, herself, the two young cats in nests, and the three remaining siblings forming something like a circle. Fortunately, Hailstorm had been able to save the eyes on the little she-cat whose eyes are now bandaged and closed, and the other certainly seems better after her wounds had been tended to. After they’d had time to rest and eat, the tabby had slipped into the den and softly asked the medicine cat apprentice to leave so she could have some privacy with the litter. She stares at them now, her gaze thoughtful before she looks at Fallowpaw. “Why did you run away? That needs to be the first thing we clear up here today.” Her words are not cruel-toned - they are the opposite, but they are still firm. “What you did was very wrong. You showed disloyalty to your clan, and now you return. Why?” If they are to get anywhere today, she will need honesty. More importantly, she will need the apprentice to prove to her that she knows she’d made an awful mistake - she will need proof she can trust her to be loyal from here on out. Of course she’s grateful the young she-cat is home, but below that happiness is a low, cool anger at what she’d done.​

 

[antlerbreeze]

Antler had been given... good care, she supposed. She really couldn't argue about any of it- her vision was stumped momentarily, and with that in mind, she couldn't really run. She didn't want to. There was nowhere to go, all things considered- it looked like this might be her new home. Antler had begged time Hailstorm often to keep her near Doe, and she had gotten her wish. Her head turned towards Howlingstar, squinting through cobwebs that crowded her vision. She could see those green eyes skip over each and every one of them.

She kept her mouth quiet as Fallowpaw was questioned. Ears slowly lowered and her gaze tipped down. Guilt ate at her- Fallowpaw had left to find them of all cats, and now she was getting chewed out for it? She remained quiet for the moment.

✧　°　.　♦　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: —
  "yuh"
• 

  ANTLERPAW — SHE/HER ･ 5 MOONS ･ APP. & THUNDERCLAN ･ PENNED BY DALLAS

  a small, lh cinnamon lynx sepia still small, with a brown patterned pelt and bright orange-gold eyes. looks naive.

​

 

[FALLOWBITE]

( ⁀➷ )　 Fallow faces the Clan's leader with the same tension she would any threat. Her body is curled in upon itself, tense and ready to run at any given moment. The tabby before her stands as arbiter of her fate, and Fallow steels her jaw in the face of an interrogation.

"Um. I - I left to find my family." Her ears press back. but she continues nonetheless. "Thought they must be missin' me. Didn't mean to be - um - disloyal. ThunderClan was - is - um, 's really good to me. I just... I was scared I'd never see my family again" Is that betrayal? Her family are -- rogues, she knows that now. Rogues, like the ones that attacked ThunderClan. Is that what she is now? Is that how they see her?

Is that what she'll have to become, if Howlingstar won't let her back? Her frame has grown thinner, her limbs shakier. The thought of being off on her own scares her. Fallow sniffles a little bit, tries to put on a brave face. "Didn't know my mama would..." She trails off for a moment, continues quieter. "...wouldn't want me back." Her only hope is that ThunderClan will. They fought for her, yes, but Howlingstar's scrutiny makes that hope feel shakier.

WEARING CROWNS ⁀➷ OF TWIGS AND LEAVES 【 01.08.24 】

• //
  ​

• "SPEECH"

• ˏˋ　°　•　*⁀➷ FALLOWPAW.　THUNDERCLAN APPRENTICE. SHE / HER & IT / ITS.
  5 MOONS & AGES ON THE 1ST.　PENNED BY SATURNID.
  
  
  

  ➳ A SCARRED, POINTED BROWN MOLLY WITH PATCHY WHITE SPOTTING.

  
  BAYING HOUND xx NPC. SISTER TO DOEPAW, FAWNPAW, ANTLERPAW, & ELKPAW.

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

While Fallowpaw's siblings sit beside her, watching with round eyes, Howlingstar's attention remains on the young runaway. The mother in her is sympathetic as she listens to her shaking voice and trailing words. She wants to coo to her and tell her everything will be okay, that of course she is welcome back and she is forgiven, all wrongdoing forgotten. But when she is a leader, she cannot just be a mother. Their way of life is dependent on the loyalty and reliability of every cat, from the wisest elder to the youngest kit. Their prey, their training, their herbs...they cannot go to cats who will not stand at their clanmates' sides for every moment of their life.

She tips her chin up, her expression neutral as she considers its words. Finally, she speaks, "You should have talked to us, Fallowpaw. A loyal clanmate does not run away; they do not abandon their clan without a word." Her thoughts flicker briefly to Hollow Tree, her daughter's scent disappearing at the border. She shuts her eyes to try and block out the grief. With a gentler tone, she sighs and murmurs, "Do you vow to never do what you did again? To remain here and continue your training? Do you still want to be a ThunderClanner? To become a warrior someday?"​

 

[doepath ࿔]

Huddled close to Antler, the fawn hadn't realized just how muddled her vision was until asked to use it. Howlingstar was there... she could tell that match because she recognized her voice.. but so was Fallowpaw. Not that her sister never came to visit but... a gathering like this felt confrontational in temper. Hailstorm wasn't there and she realized sorely that she wished for his quiet, comforting presence. She'd seen him just before... he was a fluffy, large tom, everything she imagined a papa should be like... if only she remembered hers to reference.

Glancing at the blobs that move around the den to form a loose circle, Doe reaches a paw nervously on the ground until it finds Fallowpaw's, letting out a soft, relieved sigh before forcing a smile. 'We are here! Don't forget!

But the kindness they'd been given originally seems... short in comparison to the tone Howlingstar takes now. To lecture and chide her sibling for leaving like she wasn't looking for them. What harm was there in that really? She had her own family... it was selfish of ThunderClan to steal her and not even give her the chance to go looking for her home! Doe chews on the conversation in silence, pressing nervously into Antler's side for support.

Always more comfortable with the touch of litter-mates.

Fallowpaw wasn't a trickster! "Please don't be mad," she entreats the leader with a squeaky voice, "We promise we won't get Fallow into anymore trouble.... We'll be good! All of us!"​

 

[FALLOWBITE]

ˏˋ*⁀➷ Maybe Fallow should have talked to someone. And yet... her family were rogues. She knows that. Would they have even been taken in, if not for the fact that they had nowhere to go? It doesn't know. It doesn't know if it was right to run, even if it hadno intention of coming back. It's thoughts are too muddled to sift through.

What Fallow does know is that this is all she has now. All her siblings have. She needs to make sure they can say. "I do," she rushes to say, in response to Howlingstar's question. "I swear." Saying exactly what she wants to hear, just like when she changed her name. It's not lying if she can convince herself that it's true. "I wanna be... a warrior." Even if the word still tastes foreign on her tongue. She needs to be a warrior, a ThunderClanner, so she will be.

Doe's wobbly words, like a kit caught sneaking off (which is what Fallow is, isn't it?) catch her ear. Fuel her own certainty, though her claws still dig nervously into the earth beneath. "Like -- like Doe says." Doepaw, soon. They'll all be apprentices now, not just Fallow. "Me 'n my siblings are gonna train hard 'n stuff so we can stay. We'll be good." She glances back to her siblings, right? on the tip of her tongue. Looking for reassurance --

But no, she needs to stand strong for them. This is her mess to fix. Fallowpaw turns back to face Howlingstar, shaky yet unwavering. "Promise."

‎‎┌── HERE IN THE FOREST, DARK AND DEEP ⁀➷ I OFFER YOU ETERNAL SLEEP ──┐‎

• 
  

• 

  
  
  "SPEECH"
  ​

• 
  FALLOWPAW ⁀➷ she / it, apprentice of thunderclan, six moons.
  ➳ a scarred, pointed brown and white molly with shaggy fur and golden eyes.
  ➳ standoffish and solitary, always seems to have a dark cloud hanging over its head.
  ➳ baying hound xx npc, littermate to antlerpaw, doepaw, fawnpaw, & elkpaw.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Please don't be mad! Her sister chirps, her voice soft and small. She looks to her silently, but pity worms its way into her stomach. Still, she says nothing and looks back to Fallowpaw, awaiting her answer. And she makes her vow, swearing she wants to be a warrior. Howlingstar searches its gaze for a moment, searching for something, but overall having a tough time reading the youngster. She finally offers the tiniest of smalls and a firm nod. "Okay, good. I'll be leaving your punishment up to your mentor." She is sure Stormywing won't let her off easily.

Her green eyes then shift back to Fallowpaw's siblings and she tips her chin up thoughtfully. "As for you all, I want to be blunt. You're welcome here, of course, but you will be expected to become apprentices. You will receive new names, you will train under an assigned mentor, you will learn to hunt and fight, and learn about the Warrior Code. If you stay, you will follow our customs. Do you understand? And more importantly, do you still want to do it?" ​